Leonard “Lenny” Sharon is a defense attorney with a multi-state, federal, and criminal law practice centered in Androscoggin County.

The next program in the Curious Minds Lecture Series will feature attorney Leonard Sharon and activist Ray Luc Levasseur, who will discuss the intersection between the law and social movements on Tuesday, May 1 at 2 p.m. at Auburn Public Library.

In the 1960s and 1970s, when the civil rights and anti-war movements were in full force, the term “movement lawyer” was coined to describe lawyers and legal workers who not only represented protesters in court but were also active participants. The tradition of “movement” law continues today with projects such as the Black Movement Law Project. Come hear Leonard Sharon and Ray Luc Levasseur talk about their experiences during the 1960s and 1970s and the importance of legal protections for those who protest.

Leonard “Lenny” Sharon is an attorney with a multi-state, federal, and criminal defense practice centered in Androscoggin County. Sharon has represented hundreds of people in courtrooms throughout New England as well as in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kansas, and South Dakota. He is a past professor at the University of Maine School of Lew, where he taught evidence and negotiations, and is a frequent speaker on the topic of criminal defense. He is a member of the Maine and Pennsylvania Bar Associations.

Ray Luc Levasseur, a former political prisoner who spent over fifteen years in solitary confinement, was raised in Maine and born to a working-class family of Quebecois origin. He became politically radicalized about race and class at a young age, first after serving a term of duty in Vietnam and again after he spent two years in a Tennessee prison. After his release in 1971, Levasseur worked with Vietnam Veterans Against the War, as well as the prisoners’ rights group Statewide Correctional Alliance for Reform (SCAR). In 1975, Levasseur and several others founded the United Freedom Front.

The Curious Minds Lecture series is a joint partnership with Lewiston-Auburn Senior College that brings speakers on a wide variety of topics to Auburn Public Library. The programs are free and open to the public. More information about Senior College is available at the programs and at https://usm.maine.edu/seniorcollege.